PHILADELPHIA — In a video titled Operation Vapor, a piece he shot last fall for Bauer Hockey, Patrick Kane puts on a one minute and 31 second clinic of pure stickhandling gold.

The finesse. The skill. The hands.

And, basically, the opposite of Brandon Bollig’s version — which was exactly the point.

His masterpiece — Operation Raindrop (filmed by Blackhawks TV) — is 1:35 of bellyflopping, stick-smashing, and snow angels on the ice.

“I get a lot of people like that video,” Bollig chuckled over the weekend. “Just watching (Kane) do it and seeing how ridiculous — in a good way — that he looked doing it, I figured I’d do the same thing but on the opposite end and look like an idiot doing it.”

Naturally, the video blew up.

“Yeah, it was more popular than I ever expected,” said Bollig whose modest 349,397 bites doesn’t hold a candle to Kane’s 3,372,829 YouTube hits. “I’m glad people enjoyed it. Luckily, he was the one that laughed the hardest. It was probably a lot better that he respected it. That was fun.”

And good news for Calgary Flames fans, Bollig — and his sense of humour — is on his way to the city.

In a trade day deal on Saturday, Calgary general manager Brad Treliving worked the phones with the Chicago Blackhawks who were desperate to get rid of salaries.

With the new cap settled at $69-million for 2014-15, the Hawks were around $500,000 over budget while the Flames had plenty of room to move having the second-lowest payroll in the league.

And it wasn’t a deal that happened overnight as Treliving had thrown around the idea with Chicago prior to the NHL draft.

But when the Flames 83rd pick rolled round on Saturday, the Flames and Blackhawks finally came to an agreement.

“That’s what they said, it was a cap issue,” said the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder. “I think a lot of teams were thinking the cap was going to be higher. A lot of teams were against that and needed to get under. So, that part of it is a business and that’s what he explained to me why the deal was made.”

Best known for his grit and size, the fourth-line centre had 14 points and 92 penalty minutes in 82 games last season and had recently signed a three-year, $3.75-million contract extension in March.

When Bollig received the news Saturday afternoon, he was sitting in his recently purchased three-bedroom condo downtown Chicago.

“I got the call from Stan Bowman and he told me the news,” said the 27-year-old St. Charles, Mo., native. “I had just got my furniture in and bought a bunch of new stuff. Obviously, I plan on keeping (the condo) but it’s just kind of ironic how things played out.”

Bollig has been paying his dues with the Blackhawks since the 2010-11 campaign after spending two years at St. Lawrence University. After a full season in the minors with the American Hockey League Rockford IceHogs, he was shuttled back and forth between the AHL and NHL. Eventually, in 2012-13, he stuck long enough to win a Stanley Cup.

Last year, it was his first full NHL campaign.

So, understandably, Saturday’s deal from a Stanley Cup contender to a rebuilding unit was tough to stomach.

“For sure, a lot of great memories,” Bollig said. “Especially winning the Cup and having a good run this year … and all of my teammates, the ones I’ve played with in the minors, too.

“But going to a team like Calgary, they’re looking to rebuild to get to that level so it’ll be fun to try and help them do that. There’s a lot to look forward to.”

Like, for example, joining the same side as one of his sparring partners Brian McGrattan.

The two fought once last season — a Nov. 27 scrap at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“He’s one of, if not, the toughest guys in the league so it’s nice to have that on my resume,” Bollig said. “But in Calgary, the way the fans are, I think they liked it and like that side of the game. So, it’s going to be exciting to get up there in a new crop of fans and excitement.

“Playing in a good Canadian town like that, obviously it’s a big deal. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

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